-640x358.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
Leaders of the US Senate Judiciary Committee are pushing to strip developer protections from a proposed crypto market structure bill.
Committee chair Charles Grassley and senior Democrat Richard Durbin warned the bill could weaken enforcement of money transmission laws.
The pair wrote to Senate Banking Committee chair Tim Scott and ranking Democrat Elizabeth Warren outlining their concerns.
They argued the legislation would create an enforcement gap for decentralised digital asset platforms.
“Such a gap risks attracting illicit actors — like cartels and other sophisticated criminal organisations — to decentralised platforms,”
Charles Grassley and Richard Durbin said.
“Criminals already use tactics to obscure unlawful transactions. This bill would make prosecuting this conduct even more difficult,”
Charles Grassley and Richard Durbin said.
The Banking and Agriculture Committees are jointly working on legislation to define how crypto markets should be regulated.
A draft released on January 12 incorporated elements of the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act.
That provision aims to exempt crypto software developers and network maintainers from money transmission rules.
Grassley and Durbin said the Judiciary Committee was not consulted on the proposed changes.
They urged lawmakers to reject any language that could limit the government’s ability to prosecute unlicensed money transmitters.
The letter adds to growing delays around the bill as committees seek broader bipartisan backing.
Scheduled markups have already been postponed to build cross-party support.
The bill would require at least 60 votes in the Senate to pass if it reaches the floor.
That threshold could force Republicans to secure backing from several Democrats.
Coinbase withdrew its support for the bill earlier this week over multiple provisions.
The crypto exchange later said negotiations with lawmakers remain ongoing.